Abstract:Building a unified national market is the intrinsic requirement for developing new quality productivity. What role do new business forms of digital technology play in the process of market construction? This article uses empirical data on the spatial distribution of cooperative enterprises among A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2007 to 2022, and sets up a quasi-natural experiment for the Broadband China policy pilot to systematically estimate the impact of digital technology on the spatial distribution of cooperative enterprises, providing micro evidence from the industrial chain for digital technology to promote market integration construction. Research has found that digital technology drives companies to extend their supply and sales channels beyond the province through two channels: reducing transaction costs and enhancing product competitiveness. Specifically, the policy pilot has led to a 32.75% reduction in local enterprises among the top five suppliers, a 24.45% reduction in local customer enterprises, and an average decrease of 4 and 1.98 percentage points in the proportion of procurement and sales per cooperative enterprise in the province, respectively. This discovery provides systematic evidence for digital new formats to break through spatial limitations and promote market integration between regions from the perspective of the spatial distribution of cooperative enterprises. Further research has found that the positive role of digital new formats in the construction of a unified national market varies with the level of economic development, geographical location changes, and industry characteristics of the city, and is further strengthened with the degree of dependence of enterprises on the industrial chain and the level of division of labor in the chain. The research provides certain insights into the policy practice of reforming production relations. Research suggests that promoting the deep integration of digital technology and enterprises should be an important lever for advancing the construction of a unified national market. To break through the spatial limitations faced by micro entities in the old pattern of productivity, it is necessary to continuously promote the construction of digital infrastructure, improve the relevant systems of digital infrastructure system and data elements.